Ja Morant Implies Grizzlies Will Face Celtics in NBA Finals

Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant sounds pretty confident that his team will make it to this season’s NBA finals.

In an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Morant was asked what teams the Grizzlies focus will need to go through in the postseason, and the star guard replied with the name of an Eastern Conference team, not a Western Conference opponent.

Apparently, Morant isn’t worried about how his team matches up against potential Western Conference playoff foes such as the Nuggets, Pelicans, Suns and Clippers.

“Who do you look at around the league as you’re studying and say, ‘We’re gonna have to run through them?’” Andrews asked.

“Celtics,” Morant replied.

“No one in the West,” Andrews observed.

“Nah, I’m fine in the West,” Morant said.

Without explicitly saying it, Morant implied that he expects a Grizzlies–Celtics NBA Finals matchup this season.

Memphis already has played Boston once this season, losing 109–106 at home. The two teams will face each other again on Feb. 12 in Boston.

The Grizzlies are tied for the best record in the Western Conference with the Nuggets (19–11), but Memphis currently sits in the second seed after losing to Denver on Tuesday night.

The Celtics (22-9), who lost the 2022 NBA Finals in six games to the Warriors, sit in the second spot of the Eastern Conference standings behind the Bucks (22-8). 

In his three previous seasons, Morant has reached the playoffs just once. That was last season, when Memphis qualified for the postseason at 56-26. The Grizzlies were eliminated in six games by the Warriors in the conference semifinals.